Indianapolis transit agency IndyGo is suing AECOM USA Inc. and its subsidiary URS Corp. for a transit hub completed in 2016, alleging that engineers failed to account for building debris and urban infill that were unsuitable for the project, ultimately causing months of delays and millions. of dollars in cost overruns.
IndyGo, also known as Indianapolis Public Transportation Corp., hired URS in April 2013 as the lead designer and architect of record for its Julia M. Carson Transit Center. AECOM later acquired the company and completed the deal in October 2014. The engineer’s scope of work included civil and structural engineering, surveying and geotechnical services, cost estimation and other services associated with the project , according to IndyGo.
In its complaint, which was filed in Marion County, Indiana, Superior Court on Oct. 25, IndyGo says AECOM had historic maps showing structures on the site dating back more than 150 years, as well as boring records which showed the presence of urban filling. which would not be suitable soils for their selected extended base design, but the company did not consider the unsuitable conditions.
When excavation work began in November 2014, contractor Weddle Bros. Building Group LLC “almost immediately encountered inadequate flooring within the [planned building] footprint,” including the remains of foundations and brick walls, IndyGo says in its complaint.
“With Weddle’s work barely underway, excavation operations at the site were shut down, construction was already affected in terms of both scope and timing, and [IndyGo] faced a project site that was not buildable as designed and specified, suffered significant project delays and was exposed to substantial repair costs,” the transit agency states in the complaint.
Based on AECOM’s cost projections, the project budget included less than $7,000 for five days of archaeological monitoring. Instead, monitoring and repair took months to complete, with a team of 15 full-time archaeologists working at the site, typically 10 to 12 hours a day, six days a week, plus others, with a cost of about $11,500 a day, according to the complaint. .
The project’s schedule also slipped, with substantial completion expected from October 2015 to February 2016 and finally reaching June 2016. In doing so, IndyGo says it incurred $4.7 million in overruns. Local media reported that the final cost of the project is $26.5 million.
It was not immediately clear why IndyGo waited until now to file the lawsuit. He has previously publicly congratulated AECOM and other companies involved in the design for the awards the project won, and says he does not comment on pending litigation. AECOM also did not immediately respond to inquiries, and has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit.
IndyGo is suing AECOM for an amount to be determined, accusing the company of breach of contract, breach of express contractual warranties and breach of warranty of adequacy of plans and specifications.
